California beach hours restricted over safety concerns
SAN PEDRO, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Even at nightfall, White Point / Royal Palms County Beach shines with its scenic views.
“This area is very special to the entire South Bay because it's like the only place that you can basically drive down there and easy access to the shores," said Henry Chu, a Torrance resident.
But beachgoers, like Chu and his family, were turned away Monday.
“We were like, 'What’s happening over here?'" Chu spoke.
A fight broke out
Supervisor Janice Hahn and councilmember Tim McOsker kept it closed after five men were shot Saturday night here when a fight broke out.
Bryan Cruz saw all the commotion saying, "I don’t feel like a lot of people know this area. It's nice to come out here; other beaches are populated. It's scary this happened in this area and actually very frequently; it's shocking [and] it's surprising."
City and county officials say the shooting was the tipping point to a series of issues at the beach like constant noise complaints, large crowds and fights that ramp up on the weekends.
"What we’re seeing is more and more activity, where folks are engaging with each other and by the end of the day, maybe because of the drinking, something else folks are engaging in some confrontations," McOsker spoke.
Long-term solution
To combat this, authorities are restricting beach hours while they work with police to come up with a long-term solution.
The beach and parking lot will now close at 4:30pm Friday through Sunday.
Monday thru Thursday, the beach will continue to close at dusk.
Police will also continue to investigate what led up to Saturday's shooting. However, beachgoers say increasing security is something they’d like to see.
“Changing the hours and all that...I just think there need to be more a of a security presence in order to enforce safety," said Jasmine Flores, a South Bay resident.
